Just a short-sort of a blog//story this morning to get the wood-chips in my arteries flowing again with stimulus from my imagination. Ah yes, that wonder-full word called imagination that in reality becomes the igniter of all that speaks art.

To any who refuse to use ‘imagination’ in their wood-working pro-vision, en-vision of contrived design….well, why bother; so lets start creating a story of wood-working tales.

Since I’m supposed to be gaining on this thing I started back….when, concerning a countertop and Mexican sink, which in turn went on to tung oil….

....and then//now shellac….

....some time has passed. I in turn said that I would write some on ‘shellac’ and the deep mysteries of this golden amber nectar of the gods. So if your ready and reading, lets go and get this thing started….

....in doing a word-wood piece such as this, one needs to have a handle on the tools they will be using and so I all-ways after using imagination as my first tool….proceed on to wood. In this case I’m using a slab of maple that I chainsaw milled at the start of summer and is now sitting and waiting for some attention. Rock maple slab, 40’’-42’’ wide x 4’’ thick x 7’-8’ long with some spalting and yes this is an expensive piece of wood that I’m using for a ‘finish test’ of shellac, but then if your not testing your finishes….how will one ever learn. Come to think of it, I hope there’s none here who actually think one learns from books or by asking other’s….unless of course that one all-ways wants to just be a follower. What I’m talking about is being the master of your own wood-working destiny….

....next one will need some paper, pencil and a knowledge of the wood they’re working with and although I’m showing an excellent book here, no-thing beats getting out into the woods and gaining//acquiring first hand knowledge….

....just some hand tools for working the wood….

....bark de-spudder and a hand-made home-made slick for shedding some bark….

....more in the way of broadax’s and a finish slick for cleaning up. How one can work wood without these I’ll never understand….and yes, the broadax also works very good as a hand plane….

—hello Lew;—ah yes, ....the ’finish tool box of the dark arts’. This ones been with me for many years now and it goes with me where-ever I go. I use the box out in the barn, in my office, on job sites and on all my travels to shows and motel rooms. One might wonder about ‘motel rooms’ and how that fits in here….but the stories that box could tell. Often when doing a show or exhibition, there are those last minute preparations, (and even repairs) that all-ways need to be done to a wood piece….so the ‘dark arts’ box is my answer to this thing I call wood finishing alchemy….LOL. So I have a motel room that in essence be-comes a finish room and although the contents of the box can change, the box just continues gathering a character all it’s own….

—hello Grumpy;—glad you liked the serving up of langsyne, although by my living in the now of this moment, means keeping these tools all-ways close at hand. Preferring to unplug my power tools, I am ever more finding new ways to use these tools today….